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I've heard there is a gourmet mushroom that tastes much like lobster. I am very interested in growing this mushroom if it isn't too difficult. What mediums can you grow it on? Most pics I have seen have been grown in bags. Can you cultivate it using jars? Any tips or links would be appreciated. Does the mushroom deserve its reputation for flavor?

--------------------"There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby, and invisible. And there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where everything has already happened and everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known. It is they, the sacred mushrooms, that speak in a way I can understand. I ask them and they answer me. When I return from the trip that I have taken with them, I tell what they have told me and what they have shown me."
-- Mazatec shaman

Hericium erinaceus is one of the few mushrooms inparting the flavor of lobster when cooked. Producing a mane of cascading white spines, this mushroom can be grown on sterilized sawdust/bran or via the traditional log method first established for Shiitake.

Mycelial Characteristics:

Whitish, forming triangular zones of collected rhizomorphs, radiating from the dense center section. (The mycelium can resemble the structure of a glaciated mountain (i.e. Mt. Rainier) as seen from high overhead from an airplane). If the top and bottom of the culture dishes are taped together, evaporation is lessened with an associated pooling of carbon dioxide. This stimulates the mycelium into aerial growth. As cultures age, the mycelia become yellow to distinctly pinkish. Islands of young fruitbodies form in petri dish cultures incubated at 75* F (24* C) in two to three weeks. Such fruitbodies are characterized by elongated, aerial spines ("spider-like"), which in age, change from whitish to yellowish.

This mushroom grows quickly and is acclaimed by most mycophagists. From a mareting point of view, H. erinaceus has distinct advantages and few disadvantages. The snow-ball like forms are appealing. Picked individually and wrapped in rice paper or presented in a see-through container, this mushroom is best sold individually, regardless of weight. A major disadvantage is its high water content and white background which makes bruising quite apparent, although the mushroom may be, as a whole, in fine shape. Once the brown nruises occur, the damaged tissue becomes a site for bacterial blotch, quickly spreading to the other mature parts of the mushroom. In short, this mushroom must be handled ever so carefully by the harvesters. By reducing humidity several hours before harvest to the 60-70% range, the mushroom loses sufficient water and tends not to bruise se readily. Hericium erinaceus grows aggressively on hardwood sawdust enriched with bran. Incubation proceeds for two weeks, after which primordia occur spontaneously. Since fruitings off vertical faces of the plastic bags are more desirable than top fruitings, it is essential that holes be punched into the sides of the bags directly after colonization. Should primordia form unabated within the confines of the sealed bag, the number and quality of spines are adversely affected. Under thise conditions, the spines elongate, are loosely arranged, and whin they fully develop the mass of the harvested mushroom is only a fraction of what it would have otherwise been.

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Anno cock? is that some kind of Greek liqueur? -Geo's All Knowing Sex Slave

I think it depends on method of preparation. I know that whenever I have Lion's Manes growing in our chamber the chamber takes on a "shell-fishish" smell. When cooked in butter they tend to resemble and have a hint of shellfish flavor (though maybe not exactly Lobster). But they do taste different when cooked in oil, ect. Sometimes people have completely different mushroom tasting experiences, describing the fragrance and flavor of a particular fungus completely differently.

Good point, I been trying to cook them as long as I have been growing them. I tried steaming in a sauce of butter and lemon, frying them with no oil in a skillet, with oil, so on and so forth never once noteing a resemblence to shellfish. Myabe its the culture I have beeen using and the substrate. To me fresh they smell like coconut and dried they smell like ha ha well driend mushroom.

The varieties I like the most are ones that have a woody or nutty flavor and scent. Chantrels have this beautiful scent of almonds, Nameko smells/tastes like cashews.

Ahhh.... this all intrigues me very much. So, I think this conversation has really turned into what are peoples favorite flavors. That Nameko thing sounds cool, and Chantrels sound good too. I might try both. No worry about sparking interest in this guy, I'm hooked on mushrooms. This is a rewarding hobby, you get to really savor the "fruits." Keep the suggestions flowing, and thanks for the tips on the supposed lobster like flavor. I can see how descriptions can often fall short, nothing is like tasting for yourself.

--------------------"There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby, and invisible. And there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where everything has already happened and everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known. It is they, the sacred mushrooms, that speak in a way I can understand. I ask them and they answer me. When I return from the trip that I have taken with them, I tell what they have told me and what they have shown me."
-- Mazatec shaman

I think the reason you are all finding different tastes for Lion's Mane is caused by substrate differences.

Lion's Mane grown on logs or sawdust based substrate certainly DO impart a wonderful seafood taste. Those grown on PF cake formula are bland tasting. I have never had one tasting bitter or medicinal no matter the substrate.

While I agree that Shiitake are fantastic tasting, eating raw mushrooms is a health hazard.

OMG my gf will love the rangoon recipe if I grow them. I think I will grow them on sawdust if that produces the best flavor. Do you think that particular breed of tree would impart a better flavor? I wonder if that is true for all mushrooms. Could you produce button mushrooms of a different flavor by growing them on a different medium? Cherrywood for the lions mane? I'm wondering what are the characteristics of wood that you take into consideration when using them as medium. pH? nutrients? I need help, I want to set up a nice gourmet project. Are nameko easy to grow?

--------------------"There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby, and invisible. And there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints, a world where everything has already happened and everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known. It is they, the sacred mushrooms, that speak in a way I can understand. I ask them and they answer me. When I return from the trip that I have taken with them, I tell what they have told me and what they have shown me."
-- Mazatec shaman